"And indeed, the burden of Cassandra's "gift" is evident in mythology. She predicted the outcome of many disastrous events. In one memorable example, Cassandra announced the dire consequences of the Trojans accepting the infamous Wooden Horse from their Greek opponents. But as Apollo made certain, no one believed Cassandra when she warned her companions about the future. And this, in the end, was to be Cassandra's tragic fate."

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Support William Russell; John Murtha is unopposed

I previously wrote about William Russell's campaign against John Murtha this year in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district. It appears as if John Murtha has found a technical defect in Russell's filing papers and is using fake Republicans to file a challenge to keep Russell off of the ballot. Atlas writes more. Russell can get back on the ballot if he receives 1000 or more write-in votes on April 22.

The larger issue is that of the existence of the "Republicans" who would agree to be Murtha's front men for the purpose of denying the voters a choice this fall. History is full of examples of individuals who pretend to be what they actually oppose so that they can destroy their enemy from within.

Will Durant was an atheist who had broken with the Catholic Church, yet remained in the seminary. His intention (and that of his friend and fellow seminarian) was to become a priest and undermine the Church from within throughout a long career. Durant did not follow through on his plan (quitting to become an educator and historian), but his friend did.

Durant told his story in his autobiography, Transitions.

This is no casual example. Consider the commitment of one who spends his life as a Priest. He gives up marriage. He gives up privacy. He gives up all of the trappings of life outside of the church, including any possibility of wealth accumulation. It is understandable that one might do this if he actually believes in God. But to do it while believing that God does not exist requires a different kind of commitment. To be so committed to atheism that one could endure a fundamentally dishonest life is almost unimaginable to ordinary humans. Yet it has been done.

As another example, those who are not wilfully blind are aware of the actions of many Soviet agents who pretended to be "American" for the sole purpose of undermining America during the cold war.

There are many other examples. But now we have the example of individuals who would join a political party solely for the purpose of undermining its operations, keeping its candidates off of the ballot and denying the voters a choice. All while maintaining the appearance of kinship with the party of Reagan, Goldwater and Newt Gingrich.

I know nothing of the individuals that challenged Russell's nomination filing at the behest of John Murtha. But I can try to imagine how they attempt to integrate this political errand into their personal lives. With friends who might wonder how a Republican could do such a thing to the Republican voters, they have no choice but to feign indignance of their own and protest that they felt a need to right a terrible wrong. In order to justify their own betrayal, they resort to false accusation, slander and repeating of smears. Or they must pretend to be so angry about some recent issue, that they are compelled to take drastic action. These excuses and feigned emotions wear thin after a time. Eventually they learn to seek only the company of kindred spirits - leftists who will understand the need to live a lie for the greater goal of promoting big government and surrender to terrorists.

My point is that we should not assume that one is a "Republican" just because he can fill out a registration form. (No more than we should assume that one is an "American" just because he receives amnesty from the government.) To be a real Republican requires commitment to certain principles. If someone demonstrates outright hostility to those principles at every turn, it is a safe bet that they will betray the party in some important way in the future.